I can't believe the miles on this car at this price. Illinois is withing driving distance to me...well...6 to 8 hours...perhaps a test drive would change my mind about the F1. i'll start another thread.

no pwer seats on this one either! darn! i almost considered F1. tell me why is should seriously consider F1? wife says F1 so she can drive...thats the best reason so far. i just want less risk with repairs but if i can save 10 to 15K up front, i can save that for 2 to 3 clutch changes. If i treat the car right, can i go 10 to 15K miles b4 needing a new clutch on a 3400 mile F430? again, assuming the car had zero issues!

no pwer seats on this one either! darn! i almost considered F1. tell me why is should seriously consider F1? wife says F1 so she can drive...thats the best reason so far. i just want less risk with repairs but if i can save 10 to 15K up front, i can save that for 2 to 3 clutch changes. If i treat the car right, can i go 10 to 15K miles b4 needing a new clutch on a 3400 mile F430? again, assuming the car had zero issues!

Cheng

I will be getting an estimated 25-30K miles on my clutch according to Ferrari of BH, and I drive HARD (im young lol). I would guestimate 20K minimum for the most part?

Cheng, Please don't take offense, but I think you should use the time to take a few deep breaths. Just a month ago you were "pinching pennies" for a 360. Two weeks ago, you didn't know anything about the keys and fobs, and today you're "stretching" your budget for a 430 yet worried about maintenance costs and seat adjustments. And unless I missed it, you haven't even driven one yet.

Unless you're just a very emotive and expresive personality, that says Huge Risk to me.

I suggest you slow down and take the time to thoroughly learn about the cars you're interested in. No reason to rush the search, and plenty of reasons not to. My own took 6 months of planning and another six for the search. BTW - I enjoyed every minute of it. I've since met the new owners of two of the cars I passed up. After hearing their stories and seeing the cars, I thank my lucky stars I didn't let my emotions rush me to purchase them. Either would have been a disaster for me.

Cheng settle on your model and spec and get out and drive a few cars. Time behind the wheel will help refine your requirements, and use the feedback from dealers and service dept managers who will talk with you to better understand the ownership proposition and how that fits into your lifestyle.

You'll get there in the end, and unlike us over here in Ireland, you have a big market place to work with so stick to your must haves and prioritise your wants then start looking for the car that fits the bill.

David & Michael, well said and caring response. A true staple to this forum.

Cheng, from other posts it sounded like your wife was structuring your budget and requirements for you. Maybe a great time to have her lead with one of your best relationships built. A pre-dinner 360 & 430 ride together to settle your thoughts could be what the doctor ordered.

I am so very grateful for technology such as this to allow me to learn and aqcuire sound advice from you all. All of you are very professional and courteous and it is much appreciated. I admit that i have some sort of undiagnosed psych issue. Perhaps some of the psychiatrists here can put a label on it. I will warn you though that my wife has already mentioned OCD and Bipolar C'mon, we have to be somewhat nuts to want a car or cars of this caliber. I have learned that people that share similar interests with me (most of you) also have other hobbies and within those hobbies have the exotic level toys. For example, my first airgun or BB gun was bought in 2005. My neighbor showed me his 1979 Benjamin Sheridan (200 bucks in '05) and i was hooked. I did some research on the web for 4 weeks and ended up with a Feinwerkbau, a german made pre-compressed air rifle. If you don't know what those are, they are the Ferraris of not only pellet guns but also Olympic Match rifles. Who in their right mind would start off with a pellet gun like that? Again, wife said i was nuts. I shot that rifle over a 1000 rounds that summer and started competing locally but never took it seriously enough to warrant that gun. Not only was she beautiful and a work of art but performed comparable to the F car in its own realm. I'd be happy to post a ptr for those interested. That was only the beginning of my crazy shopping ventures. Every year since then, i made similar crazy purchases. My first digital camera was a Nikon D2X and i learned how to make use of it by taking classes via correspondence. I became the family photographer for my whole extended family and have enough lighting equipment to shoot a family of 30 with ease (BTW i have studio in house also) Where is this heading?
Those are just 2 of my crazy purchases, the F car will top the cake. All the high end material things i have (did i mention i am listening to music on equiment that worth prbbably 1/3 of the F car-wife next to me as i type who has no way of appreciating the sound quality) i keep. They are all worth a lot more than the money i spent on them. I see all my hard work reflected in them. That first rifle begs to be held in its display case in my office surrounded by 2 other equally beautiful works of art. In conclusion, this here forum and the web are all i have b4 i fly out to dallas or new england or california or florida for those test drives and discussions with dealers and service managers. I truly appreciate your time and input in this most important purchasing decision. Believe it or not, your input is having an impact on what i want or will decide to do. However, i have a track record for not listening to reason. My mom knows what i am up to but she promised not to tell my dad who would have a stroke! The same guy who bought an Audi in 1983 but asked if he could buy it without the radio tosave a few bucks! unreal!
Yes i believe things happen for a reason. I am so glad that the 360 deal fell through. i would not be thinking F430 if that would haev happened. or worst yet, i'd haev a 360 with problems on top of buyers remorse. I asked wife about increasing budget AND my business partner prior to deciding to upgrade to F430. I did not think i could afford it. I also felt guilty and selfish to be considering F430 (hence Scud out of the question). I aksed a guy once back when i was in college if that rust bucket was his only car? (He was someone in a decent profession and soon would become one of my mentors and role models. ) He answred "no...i have another identical one". I laughed and said, "seriously?" he said "yup. why do you laugh?" I said, "well. i just thought being you and your wife are both professionals that you would have a Ferrari or something like it." He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I have 3 kids and can not be that selfish." that left an impression on me. Its been 15 years since i've graduated from college. i have 4 kids and all the bills that come with life at 40. I got over it and have green light from wife and kids. So yes, i'll try to slow it down a little by learning as much as i can b4 i hand over the check. Thanks for reading and i hope you understnad a little more and can agree that you also might have similar psych issues. Now if you'll excuse me i best get to checking out the current listings of F430's. F1 is in the running now and i want to go somewhere where i can test drive both versions and in 2 cars that i may acutally buy.

Thanks for the explanation. I admit to having a psych issue concerning nice things. My wife says I'll never be happy with my stuff. I tell her it's a "performance improvement plan."
At least she signed off on the Ferrari purchase. She wants a 360, but I'm torn between the 360 and the F430 again (and I'll be the one doing most of the driving). Who knows what will happen when it's time to pull my trigger. Gotta have the extra $$$ to pay for the F430, so that'll be an easy deciding factor! Black or white - do I have enough money or not? We'll see. It's a little bit simpler for me since I don't have any business partners to worry about, just gotta clear the wife
Good luck.
If you get a chance, check out World Class Driving. That's the outfit that first put me behind the wheel of a Ferrari earlier this year: Red/Tan F430 Spider F1. I was in love with the brand from that moment. It's a great, inexpensive way to test drive a lot of cars. Depending on where you do it, you'll get a chance to do some really great driving to figure out which car is right for you. Driving the Ferrari, Audi R8 V10, Bentley Continental GTC ISR, Jaguar XKR-S, and McLaren SLR, I found out I was a Ferrari man, all the way.

Cheng, the Ferrari you're after is way more than just the "top of the cake" of your examples.
A high-end Fein is only $3000, so fixing a broken one is not the end of the world.
Buy a bad Ferrari and you can easily find yourself with a $25,000 bill.
So the level of risk is an order of magnitude larger.
That other site has numerous posts from guys who proved this theory and now have a very expensive garage ornament they can't afford to drive, fix, or maintain.

Sheehan has several good articles advising first-time buyers, they're worth a read.

I hear ya killer. Hence, i want to take more precautions than with the rifle addiction. I'm not one to leave my toys broken so this could get bad if i don't do the homework. Sheehan has fwd me many articles and each one motivated me to read more and more.

Raj, thanks for your responses! my wife is getting tired of me typing and shopping online. she thinks i should have bought one by now. "whats the big deal?"

you guys really have to drive both and see both side by side and decide.

I really believe if I had the money to buy a 430, I would have stayed with a 360, why because for ME the looks does it. When I bought my 360 I had never even sat in a 360, newest I had driven was a 328GTS. For that matter I had already signed the papers buying my car before sitting in it. I have since driven a 430 and immediately felt the difference between 360 and 430. But talking it over with my wife even if I had the money, even if I won the lottery I would stay with the 360. I have no interest in upgrading (well ok a 599 but that is totally out of the question on my salary).

Both cars are great, the 430 is a little more refined and has more power but the 360 is perfect for ME. You guys really should figure out a way to see both at the same time and drive both first, come out to Calif and go to our Cars&Coffee, you can drive my 360 and we can try and find you a ride at least in a 430 and you can see them both side-by-side if looks are important to you (I know its not to some, for some is pure performance).

In the end, remember its just a car yes it hurts me to say a Ferrari is just a car but it really is only a car, get the one YOU want.

Oh and far as time goes, I spent 2+ years looking for a 328GTS, looked at dozens of cars never bought one, made a rash decision to buy a 360 and bought one in less then 2 weeks time, your wife is right.

I'm close to clicking BUY IT NOW on ebay and figure the rest out later. j/k. i wish i had money to do that but i dont. you do have a great idea about coming out there. FOr now, i am tabbing out where the cars are with their respective zip codes so i can take the least amount of time from work to get to a densely filled ferrari zone. 100 mile radious would be great for 3 day trip. if i can take close looks at 5 cars that i could potentially take home, i'd be happy. this is why i am spending time looking at possibles. I truly wanted a 430 but just did not think i could afford it until 7 or 8 yers down the road. After looking at finances and discussing with business partner, we can afford to give me a raise to cover the f430 and add money into a maintenance fund every month. i will be going to look at a 430 spyder tomrow just to sit in the seats. i am too honest in that i'll have to tell them i am more interested in a car out of state. i could pretend to be interested so i can test drive their 6 spd manual which i still prefer first and foremost. hmm....maybe i can state it this way, "Im here to see if you can convince me NOT to go to California to buy a red F1 F430." eheh..we'll see.

Cheng, when you first need a raise in salary to be able to buy and maintain a F430, or any type of Fcar for that matter, you might be heading towards very unpleasant surprises. To me that sounds like a 'crash and burn' scenario. Many of us, like you, run a business but I would never risk my budget, business or personal, to buy anything I cannot buy with the cash I have in hand.
The F bug and the huge pleasure of owning a Ferrari has got nothing to do with how much you spend on the car. My advise would be to first go for one that fits in your current budget, enjoy the car, get to know it, connect to other owners to really understand what you are talking about and when you really can afford it without any problems go for an upgrade in model and price. I really don't want to lecture you on how to spend your money, and absolutely no offence, but to me your approach is just not logical....
Just my 2 cents

I agree with 550JM, if you have to get a raise first be careful and perhaps a 430 is not for you, but....

I was looking for a 328GTS because I firmly believed for well over 20+ years that a Ferrari has to be a cash only car, if you don't have the cash in hand you can't afford a Ferrari and I firmly believed that. It took me several decades but I saved enough for a 328 and started looking. This April after looking at yet another 328, my wife got frustrated and said "your favorite feature is the engine under glass, buy one and be done with it". Against my better judgment, I called Penfed, got a loan approved, found a 360 and bought it, the very first one I looked at and all within a week of my wife's comment. I had to finance about $20k since all I had was enough for a 328 but stretching allowed me to get the car I wanted. I don't recommend to anyone buying the first 360 you see (and without a PPI) but it worked out great for me. Stretching to get the car YOU want is worth it when we are talking Ferrari's but you really need to sit down and figure out how to pay for it FIRST. Having to get a raise first is really risky (I realize the raise is a done deal now).

I know my finances really well and I was comfortable doing it (bought the 360 on April 12 and PAID IT OFF December 3 (a few days ago) ) even though I really hate debt financing allowed me to get the car. I do NOT know your finances at all but it sounds like you might be stretching a little too much, don't be offended, I don't know you or your finances.

I stand by my original recommendation, sit in a 360 and a 430, even if its the wrong color, or stick vs. F1, go to where ever you can to sit in them, yes its better to drive but sit and look at them side-by-side before deciding on a specific model.

Thanks for the advice with regards to finances and Ferrari ownership. I just try to be cautious with any major purchase. This is one of them of course. Just to make things simple without going into details, an F430 is not a problem. The OCD side of me just needs to cover all bases in cases anything unforeseen happens, life can continue without needing to sell the F car. Hence, thats all i meant with raises and permission etc etc. The main reason for this thread is not to judge me financial reasoning by any means and of course it was probabaly my fault for steering things this way. I will try be more careful on how i phrase things or share things on here. However, that being said, i truly appreciate the sincerity of fellow members and their concerns. I agree that if someone has to literally suffer or go on a water and PB&J diet to have an F car, they need to re-think things a little. I may however change my diet and excercise more so i can enjoy the F car longer. You guys are great and i hope to be able to help others like myself in the future. Thanks.